JB funding her US trip, furious with Nyasa Times story

Former president Joyce Banda has vehemently protested against a story carried by Nyasa Times earlier that former Chief Secretary in the Office of President and Cabinet Hawa Ndilowe has been removed from her post after it was discovered that she was arranging a foreign trip to the United State of America for Banda.

Banda is expected to travel to the USA where she will also proceed to the United Kingdom and is expected to be out of the country for closer to a month.

But the former president denied the assertions that government is funding the trip and that Ndilowe was arranging it.

JB: Funding her trip

The former president through her media liason officer Tusekele Mwanyongo said the Nyasa Times story about government redeploying Ndilowe for allegedly arranging Banda’s trip is “both erroneous and demeaning to the subjects.”

Mwanyongo said: “We do not wish to speak on behslf of government and the former Chief Secretary but it is not standard practice in government to expect a whole Chief Secretary to be arranging trips for either the Head of State or a former President.”

The office of the former president clarified that Banda is funding her trip to the US.

“The Government of Malawi is not involved in any way, including providing money to cater for her stay there,” said Mwanyongo

Banda is not amused with Nyasa Times for the earlier article and her PR aide said: “It will imperative next time to check with the former President herself or indeed her relevant assistants when matters hinging on her personal character and status come up, especially when they originate from suspected adversaries.”